SAN DIEGO, July 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Trovagene, Inc. (Nasdaq: TROV), a developer of transrenal molecular diagnostics, received notice of U.S. Patent 8,222,370, titled "Nucleophosmin protein (NPM) mutants, corresponding gene sequences and uses thereof." This is the first U.S. patent issued around this mutation, and is part of a family of filed patents for Trovagene around NPM. Mutation analysis of nucleophosmin-1 (NPM1) is currently used for the diagnosis, stratification and monitoring of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

AML is a clinically heterogeneous disease with about 200,000 new cases per year worldwide. Subgrouping of AML patients using karyotypic abnormalities provides for more individualized patient prognosis. However, in almost half of AML cases the karyotype appears normal and provides no guidance for the physician. A discovery by Drs. Falini and Mecucci, at the Institute of Hematology at the University of Perugia in Italy, showed that many AML patients have mutations in the NPM1 gene, and these mutations are a marker for more favorable clinical outcomes.

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (www.nccn.org[2]), which sets clinical standards for cancer treatment, has included testing for NPM mutations in their clinical practice guidelines (NCCN Guidelines™ Version 2.2011 – Acute Myeloid Leukemia). NPM1 mutation analysis helps physicians to select more appropriate treatment strategies for AML patients. NPM1 testing may also be useful for monitoring the effectiveness of treatment, minimal residual disease monitoring and detecting relapse, and stratifying AML patients when enrolling in clinical trials.

Trovagene holds an exclusive worldwide license to the patent. To date, the Company has granted nonexclusiv'/>"/>

SAN DIEGO, July 18, 2012 /- Trovagene, Inc. (Nasdaq: TROV), a developer of transrenal molecular diagnostics, received notice of U.S. Patent 8,222,370, titled "Nucleophosmin protein (NPM) mutants, corresponding gene sequences and uses thereof." This is the first U.S. patent issued around this mutation, and is part of a family of filed patents for Trovagene around NPM...